This is a rare and expensive Echeveria, I really hopes t survives

Was it a rooted plant or an un-rooted cutting? The container apppears to be huge for a tiny plant/cutting, how large is it diameter and depth? I'm not personally a fan of totally gritty mixes, but appreciate others are, just saying what works for my CC's, please take a look at my thread posted only a few moments ago all about my CC's.....it may help. The unrooted plants went into the new mix I made for them which was barely damp, they had sat for a day or so to dry out their severed ends and they've not been watered yet, it's well over two weeks ago, come to think of it....time flies along. No roots = no water!

Mine do take full sun here in the UK in south window, they don't go outside, I have no experience in that dept, but we are currently in a mid 30's C heatwave, which they don't normally experience, haha, plus they've been 'fiddled with' recently so are sitting chilling out in the shadier areas as mentioned in my thread.

Gill

@greenclaws my plant had extensive root structure when it was first planted. It did fine until we had hot days. I moved it into shade and I hope it can recover.

Not sure about CC but all my echeveria go through an extensive transistion if I repot, or if they are new. Start with coolest shade and move about once per week until in full sun. Some never go into full sun, maybe 1/2 day or brightly dapples, just seems from experience that some of the rarer ones, or big and frilly or fancy don't do well with stress, i.e full sun. I'm near the SF bay where we seldom get over 80, outside the occasional "heatwave into the high 80s or mid 90s. Even then it cools off at night. When we do get intense sun or heat I'll throw some "trimmings", usually bulb stems or other tree trimmings or longish weeds over newly sunned plants to give them partial protection/shade. I could also do this with netting or shade cloth...just usually have plenty of trimmings to use and I neeeed to make it easy. Just my hyper attentive treatment of my "special" plants in case you are also tweaked out on rare echeveria-)

@lisasfbay9b I am in South Bay, and we are sweating like crazy the last few days.

Hey Westes I'm in Martinez, and I just got one of these on May 30th. It's had almost zero direct sun since I've had it. Just lots of bright outside light. Maybe an hour and a half of sun at about 5:30pm-till sun's gone. I think these guys may be sensitive to our summer sun/heat. Unfortunately you found that out the hard way:(. As long as the center growth snaps back you're in the clear:). Goodluck:).

Don't mind the mechanical damage and broken leaves on my plant below. That's totally my fault:). He's exactly 3 inches across at the biggest part:).

June 6th

Today

Hi Bay People....yep we've been hot too! I move things into shade etc. when I can.....I really need to stop obsessively collecting echeveria, then obsessively babying them by rotating them around all year! Not so good for my back, but apparently it is good for my brain or some other internal something or other! otherwise I'd get a grip and realize I can't actually take care of all these plants. If only there were two of me:-)

Lovely colourful pics Lisa!

Gill

Hey Lisa I love how colorful your yard is:). Reminds me of Annie's Annuals a bit:) . You've got some old Echeverias. The top pic what's the big purple one and the chartreuse one on the lower left?

Kara, looks like your CC is healthy and growing!!! Can you tell me where you got yours?

I got it at Dry Gardens in Oakland California:).

I read a blog on CC's yesterday and the guy has tons of them. He said they like less water and less actual sun, but bright light. Also get no water down in the center growth. I'm sure you've read this too. They really finicky when you repot too.

Their leaves are so tender so there was no way I would throw this thing out in the sun. It's almost like the heat just melts them like chocolate:). Mmmm chocolate. I keep it on my porch which is a great spot for lots of my succulents. No cactus, but things that don't want want or need to be blasted with my hot sun. If I put my CC out in the sun I would worry it would just shrivel.

Heres the little Article I read. It's short and the pics are beautiful:).

Lisa, what is that beauty cascading out of the concrete planter in the first photo? Looks like an echeveria, but what kind? Love that look!

@kara, what is Dry Garden charging for Carousels?

How are we supposed to avoid getting water down into the center growth? Trying to understand the logic there. They can't be that sensitive to water?

It was $40.

To avaoid watering the crown I get a watering can, and tilt the container as I water. I tilt the container so I know roots are getting water, and not just the sides. I only do this with my CC and Spiral Aloes. Everything else gets watered overhead. I always here this is bad, but I don't have the patience to water every plant like my CC or Spiral Aloes:).

Unfortunately, the last leaf on my Compton has come off, so now all I have remaining is a root system (hopefully). Is there any chance at all to save this plant?

I moved the plant into the shade the day I posted this thread. Look at the way the last few leaves rotted at the bottom rather than the top of the leaf. If this was damage from the sun, wouldn't we expect the browning to occur at the large top part of the leaf, that is most exposed to sun? The fact that the brown appears at the base makes me believe that I might have overwatered the plant, on top of having burned part of it?

I am starting to understand why few people buy Comptons. They cost $50 and they die if you even breathe on them.

Only time will tell if the plant will survive, but the way these plants are I'm gonna guess no.

You could have overwatered. I have burned some plants that never bounce back. The health of them just start to fail and it's just a downward spiral.

@kara, what watering schedule are you using on yours? Your soil holds a lot of water as well, so I am guessing that soil stays moist and you never allow it to fully dry out?

With the leaf dying from the bottom up, does that look like overheating or overwatering to you?

Thanks to all. Kara, the dark echie is Zorro and then yellow one is Pallida, both from Wright Nursery. Leslie, the cascade on the left is sedum, morganianum , burrito sedum, I don;t do very well with it, get a lot of webs, spiders and self prunes alot. I have some in a bigger pot that is hanging down about 16 inches, took a loooong time! The fat cascade is Pachypetalum pachyphyllum, one of my favorites,

Westes. some growers are doing CC in pure pumice....thinking of trying that with some of my echies that struggle mysteriously.

It's better to buy CCs grown outdoors, and to buy them in winter ;)

Westes, I never repotted after purchasing it from Dry Gardens. I kept it the mix it came in, was to scared to stress it. I would say it's in about 60% pumice than the rest soil. I really don't know what the ratio is because I didn't make it:). Both the pics above are after I watered so that's why they look wet. I would say I water mine once a week with a small watering can. The CC is dry right now. I will water in a couple days. Maybe;). I water around the rosette. Never do I get water on or in the middle of the new growth. Even tho we live in a dry climate. Sometimes I think water in the crown + heat can cause rot.

I'm gonna guess after yours burned it just took a nose dive. I've had that happen to certain plants.

To avoid water on the rosette Kara's method is great. I also keep a large tray of water near my special plants and will set each tiny pot into the tray for a few minutes. I like to let the water sit overnight (no plants just the water in the tray) this lets the chlorine and chlorhexi-wahtsit evaporate so approximates rain water a little more. Crassula/echie respond better to water treated this way. Or if you want to be super-plant-geek use actual rain water or bottled. Hate the plastic bottle waste though.....

I can't believe I'm gonna admit this, but I give a few plants drinking water. My new CC is on that small list of plants;).

Depending on what exactly is used to treat water (chlorine or chloramine = 2 different things IIRC), it will - or not - evaporate, regardless how long has it been sitting in the bucket....

@Kara what is the watering schedule for you CC? Do you wait for the soil to completely dry out before watering again? How are you testing the soil for dryness?

Easy way to test soil for dryness is the 'skewer test'. Use bamboo skewer (or chopstick, or wooden dowel with sharpened end or even a pencil). Stick deep into soil, leave for few minutes. If it comes out feeling damp/cold and may have some particles sticking to it, there is still plenty of moisture. If dry and clean, mix is dry...

Westes I wish I could tell you I water every Thursday at 10am:), but I don't. I water my CC about once a week. Maybe even longer then 7 days. I don't test the soil, but it's dry. Next time I water I will mark it on the calendar so I see how long it is till I water next:). I find I think it's best to keep them on the drier side. Remember mine only gets bright light until about 5pmish and then gets some end of the day sun. I honestly think my CC could use a little more sun, but they're so delicate I don't wanna mess with it. He seems pretty happy where he's at:). I would love to give it morning sun till about 12pm, but I honestly think if I move him he would decline. Especially on those days when it's 90F at 9am. These guys as you found out are not happy when hot. I bet they do really well in cooler climates. I'm pretty sure I just got lucky keeping him alive. My porch is a good spot for fussy plants:).

I think that's the secret with these plants. Don't mess with them to much. If what you're doing works leaves it alone:).

I was just thinking. Uh oh;). Next time you get a CC and it comes potted I would leave be. Don't repot for like a month. Find a good spot for it first, let it get acclimated. I think that's why mine isn't dead tbh. I would have repotted when I got home, but it rolled around in my trunk, and got damaged. That's why some of the leaves are messed up on mine. I didn't want to stress it more by repotting.

Man these plants are babies:)! I guess that's why we don't find them in Lowes for $5.

Ok Westes I just watered mine. So I forgot to mark it on the calendar, but I know I watered it soon after I made the above post. Maybe a day or two after. So about 10-11 days it went in between waterings. That's seems right. If I gave it a little more sun I would probably water it once a week:).

What is dry gardens? I've never heard of it... Is it a nursery? Is it nice? Is it worth a trip to the Bay Area to check out? I'm in Sacramento but I try to find any excuse to go to the bay especially on these hot days. What's hot in the Bay Area? High 70s? Mid 80s even? It was 105 degrees F today in Sacramento which has been a pattern this season. I fact the last few years have been really hot here. More so than when I first moved here from Florida 7 years ago. I was reading how the usda zone here was changed from 9a to 9b. I don't know how recently, but my understanding is it hasn't been too long since the zone has changed? Lisa l love your garden pictures.

Depends where your at in the Bay Area:).

Yesterday it was 103F for me in Martinez. You go 15 minutes west to Richmond it's like 85F. Then you go into SF it's like 77F. You drive 45 min. south to San Jose it will be 105F. Just depends because the Bay has so many microclimates:).

Dry Gardens is good. It's not super nice like well taken care of, but they have good plants that are reasonably priced. Then there is Cactus Jungle which is about a 10 minute drive from DG. Cactus Jungle is well taken care of, but more expensive. Plus I don't think their plant variety is as good as DG. If I could only go to one I would pick Dry Gardens:). There's a place in SF I've heard is good. Can't remember the name sorry. I've never been.

A good place to go is Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol. They're open thurs-sat to the public.

Hey Ryan, Thanks!! I have plants to sell/trade/give away. If you do come to the Bay Area I'd love to meet you/invite you to stop by.

Email off group at:

lmc dbj @ gmail

no spaces of course...

Oh, I think the SFplace you refer to is Flora Grubb, finplace, very shi shi, and a good,not great, plant selection for a collector....tough for me to shop anywhere, as I don;t do cactus, thorns! and I have most locally avaiable succuelents, so I am mostlu and online shopper. I do find things at Dry garden, and Lone Pine is excellent! Also, if you're in the area the HD in Emeryville is the best one for selection, Altman's stock it well, inside and outside, they wtill have the greenhouse thingy and stock Succulents there as well as in the storeitself.

Westes, Hello, my name is Aline and I live in Brazil. I love CC. Did you get a new copy of CC? Did it work? I think this plant is rare and expensive anywhere in the world. I understand why there are few producers of this succulent. She is very sensitive to water and light. I know that the post is over three years old and I really hope you got a CC, but if I help in any way, I believe that the problem with the CC of the post was the mix of excess water with excess sun. See, I live in Brazil, here the climate is hot and I will tell you that this plant does not recover from any excess. It is better to wet less and put less light than committing an excess, as the CC never recovers. I received my copies by mail and the first one I bought I watered too much ... I lost 20 sheets! She was 17 cm and was 10. My luck was a large specimen. She melted the leaves, became translucent of the excess water and gradually dried (the symptoms of excess water seem very much like excess sun because the leaves dry). Here I don't leave my CC in the sun. It's very strong! All plants that come with variegation are more sensitive to light, because they have less pugging. The light I supply to my CC is filtered. They stay at the window but never receive direct sunlight, only good lighting. I water when the soil is completely dry, I stick a toothpick into the soil and if it comes out dry, I can water it. I use clay pots without waterproofing and dip them in the water until they follow what is necessary (I water only from below, I do not let the water in over the pot). I have other Echeverias and tropical plants and without a doubt the CC is the most demanding and difficult to cultivate.

@Aline Duarte I know a lot more now than I did three years ago. I did not order another plant due to the cost, but I believe I could grow this plant now in the shade successfully. The leaves do not look like they hold much water, so I think I would try a soil in the shade that drained very well but had a long water retention period.

Last year the stem rotted on my little CC from the above pics I posted. Luckily I caught it and beheaded it. This year it got some good growth.

@Kara can you describe what kind of mix it was in, and what brought on the rotting? What were the temperatures and season at the time that happened?

Weste, my CC are in a soil that I created myself, ground with chopped Styrofoam and ground pine bark. I'm adapting to more hours of sunshine so that the leaves are more pink at the ends.

@Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA is this the same CC from the photos from three years ago? is it the same little baby that grew up? it is wonderful and full of puppies! you leave your CC in full sun, right? How did you notice the root rot?

@westes Zone 9b California SF Bay I fertilize my CC with bark take off onion, garlic and egg skins.

Westes and Aline, yes it is the same CC from three yrs ago.

I noticed the rotting stem last summer because the pups that were on the stem started to all die off.

I beheaded the CC around early to mid Sept. 2019. It was getting a goose neck and the stem most exposed was the area where the rot was.

similar to this Echeveria I found from Google.

The roots were still good, but pretty much the whole stem was rotten. It wasn’t mushy rot, but more dry rot, like the stem crumbled when I would pick at it.

The mix it was in was the same I always use about 50%pumice, 30%perlite, and 20%cactus soil. I do think the terra cotta pot it was in may have been slightly too big. But like I said the roots seemed healthy when I took everything out. It could have started to slowly rot during our spring showers, but I really didn’t notice till late summer. Since it had a gooseneck, maybe the culprit has something to do with the stem lying on the mix.

I have pretty much always given it the same sun exposure, which is outside facing southeast. I’ve cut back the watering to once a week, but during the growing season I watered twice a week. It is in a small pot.

I really need to repot because there are pups on one side that are being pushed up against the pot.

@Kara Interesting mix. Why do you combine perlite and pumice together?

I combine the two because I was going thru my big bags of pumice too quickly. ,Then after using perlite I realized it really lightens the mix up so it’s not so heavy.